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The BlackBerry Messenger system was in the press last week for all the wrong reasons, being blamed as platform for rioters in the United Kingdom. In more positive news today however Research In Motion have been holding discussions with the major record labels so they can launch a new BlackBerry Music Service which could get merged into the BlackBerry Messenger service.
RIM has apparently already signed a deal with one of the top four record companies, and is close to signing up two more for the new service said to inject some life into the flagging BlackBerry handset. This new feature will allow users to listen and share up to 50 songs with friends and colleagues through the BlackBerry Messenger Service.
The Wall Street Journal said that the new service is not said to challenge iTunes, but the company are more interested in offering new features to their customers. With the BlackBerry Bold 9900 on the market, it may also help to attract a new, younger audience.
RIM need these ideas to come to fruition, in order to stimulate a market that they are losing rapidly to competitors, such as Google Android and Apple iOS. They are realising that The BlackBerry Messenger service is actually one of their strongest selling points, especially with the growing adoption of social networking platforms.
KitGuru says: Whether this will help boost sales has yet to be proven, but it certainly sounds like an interesting feature.
RIM is finished, and they finished themselves.
For years they claimed they had no way to decrypt the Encrypted Blackberry Messenger Texts people sent each other across Blackberry Phones. Now they turn around and promise help to the Metropolitan Police by decrypting Blackberry Messenger Encrypted Texts.
Now everyone from CEOs to Drug Lords to anyone who used Blackberry solely for the Encrypted Messages will start to have second thoughts. If Blackberry can decrypt at will, what’s stopping the US Government from getting Sealed Warrants to have Blackberry decrypt whatever they want. Or any Government for that matter.
Not to mention, Apple is launching it’s own cross-iOS Device Encrypted Messaging System (works with iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone Users running iOS 5) which will put yet another dent into RIM’s sales. RIM is finished.
They used to be something people loved. Now they’re just losers. HP already announced they’re pulling out of the PC, Tablet, Smartphone Markets etc. so they can focus more on their excellent quality Printers and other such stuff. Just like HP found it’s true calling, RIM needs to find a new Market as well, because as far as Phones, they’re finished, and the Tablet Market right now is entirely dominated by Apple, and Samsung to a lesser extent.
If they’re planning to stay, they need to find a better way to convince customers to stay with them than some Music thing.
Always good to read your views IMPY and I agree. ALthough I would really hate to see them go. They pioneered the email standards on phones and although many have caught up, They are still very impressive in regards to that.
They need to revamp their phones a little, but I think business users still love them.
I agree, RIM used to be fantastic. They were the only ones that could make decent phones with Keyboards. You could do so much with them, from getting a live Feed of a Security Camera to sending a Company-wide E-Mail. They were… Fantastic.
Businesses still use them, sure. For now. Encrypted Texts is still better than no Encryption at all. But Apple is launching competition, and people will most likely be very willing to jump on the bandwagon if Apple promises that they can’t decrypt the Texts. I think RIM never really understood how much people bought Blackberries in the last few years mostly for the Blackberry Encrypted Messages System. I think now its finally starting to hit them.
Not sure if they care so much for the Business Market as far as the Mainstream Users market anymore, but either way, they can, and will have to do a lot better than limited music sharing. If they can come up with something that impresses the masses (soon), they’ll have a shot. Something unique, awesome and irresistible. If they don’t, they’re doomed.
Google already bought out Motorola Mobility, would be sad if they bought out Blackberry as well.